Putin moves his most advanced GROWLER anti-aircraft missile system in range of NATO Baltic base as part of Russia's belligerent stance towards the former Soviet satellite states
- The advanced missile system can blast jets out of the sky from 250 miles
- Putin has ordered two regiments of Growlers to the St Petersburg region
- The missiles will cover airspace over NATO's Baltic allies and Finland
- Putin will have 16 Growler regiments available by the end of the year
Russian president Vladimir Putin has moved his most advanced anti-aircraft missile system within range of NATO's Baltic base as he continues to order his nuclear bombers to patrol the North Sea.
The S-400 Triumph, dubbed the SA-21 Growler by NATO, can destroy an aircraft at a range of 250 miles at an altitude of 90,000 feet.
Putin ordered two batteries of the highly-mobile supersonic missile systems to be deployed to the area around St Petersburg, putting a missile shield over much of the Baltic region.
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RAF jets are regularly involved in missions to protect Baltic airspace from Russian aircraft, however, Vladimir Putin is now deploying his most-advanced anti-aircraft missile system to the region as part of his increasingly belligerent stance towards the former Soviet states
The highly-advanced S-400 Triumph, known by NATO as the SA-21 Growler, pictured, is capable of shooting down an aircraft at a range of 250 miles at an altitude of up to 90,000 feet
RAF Typhoons have been deployed in a Quick Reaction Alert role across the Baltic, most recently in Estonia, which will now be covered by Putin's advanced missile system
RAF Typhoons ended a six-month tour of duty at Amari airbase in Estonia earlier this month as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission.
According to the RAF, four Typhoon aircraft from the 140 Expeditionary Air Wing were deployed to protect the airspace around Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from incursion by 'unidentified aircraft'.
Yesterday, two RAF Typhoon jets were scrambled to intercept a pair of Russian Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack bombers off the coast of Scotland.
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Each of the bombers is capable of carrying 16 nuclear missiles.
According the Ministry of Defence: 'We can confirm that Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth intercepted two Russian Blackjack bombers and escorted them while they were in the UK area of interest. At no point did the aircraft enter UK territorial airspace.'
Russian's Western Military Command confirmed that two regiments of Growlers will be deployed to the 'Leningrad region in the near future'.
The Growler, pictured, is also capable of intercepting in-bound cruise missiles
Igor Muginov told the Russian Tass news agency: 'At this time, military servicemen are preparing to hold an operational readiness exercise at the Ashuluk military station in the Astrakhan region. They are going to engage low-flying aerial, high altitude, evading and ballistic targets.
'After the operational readiness exercise is completed, the missile complex will be brought into operation so it can be used to protect the aerial borders of North-West Russia.'
Russia has been dramatically increasing the number of S-400 regiments, with 16 due to be operational by the end of the year.
Putin has already deployed one unit to Russia's Hmeimim Air Base in Syria. From the heavily-defended airbase, the missile system can cover an area covering most of Syria, southern Turkey, Cyprus, the eastern Mediterranean as well as much of Israel.
The missile system comes in three sections, with a central control point, a radar complex capable of tracking 300 targets and controlling six anti-aircraft missile launchers.
The S-400 is also able to intercept cruise missiles and other potential airborne threats.
It is also believed to be a major threat to military aircraft such as the RAF Tornado and Typhoon as well as the US Air Force F-15, F-16 and F/A 18 Hornet.
Putin has ordered a massive increase in Growler production and will have 16 regiments available to him by the end of the year, with missiles already covering Syria and the North Pole
Russian defence officials claim it can even target the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor aircraft.
The long-range missile system first went into service in 2007.
Russia claims the system can even strike incoming ballistic missiles travelling at 10,000 miles per hour at a range of 40 miles.
MOUNTING TENSIONS:THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF RUSSIAN INTERCEPTIONS
The scrambling of Typhoons from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to intercept two nuclear-capable Russian Blackjack bombers is just the latest in a long line of incidents of Russian planes nearing British airspace:
September 19, 2014: Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland shadow a pair of Tu-95 Bear bombers approaching a Nato defence zone in the North Sea.
October 29, 2014: Two more bears are intercepted approaching the UK from the Norwegian sea as part of a large sortie of Russian planes including MiG fighters.
A Russian bear bomber is escorted by an RAF fighter jet (file picture)
October 31, 2014: Typhoons from Lossiemouth escort a lone Bear away from UK airspace.
January 28, 2015: Civilian flights are diverted away from Britain after bear bombers are spotted off the coast of Bournemouth and Portsmouth after passing the west coast of Ireland and flying around the English Channel. The Foreign Office questions the Russian Ambassador as to why the bombers were flying so close to commercial flights.
February 18, 2015: Two Typhoons from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire scrambled to intercept a pair of Bear bombers flying off Cornwall. They are escorted south.
April 13, 2015: Two Typhoons are sent from Lossiemouth after two bears are seen in international airspace near north Scotland, shortly after several Nato warships are gathered off the Scottish coast for training exercises.
May 14, 2015: Two Typhoons were scrambled from Lossiemouth to intercept a pair of Tu-95 bombers flying towards UK airspace north of Scotland. But they did not enter the airspace and were not considered a threat.
September 11, 2015: Two Blackjack bombers are seen off the coast of Northumbria, prompting Typhoons to be scrambled from Lossiemouth. The UK jets closed in on the Russian planes which then flew off towards the Baltic Sea.
November 20, 2015: Blackjacks heading to a bombing raid in Syria on an unusual 8,000-mile round trip around Europe come close to entering UK airspace. Typhoons are sent from Lossiemouth to intercept and escort them away via the Atlantic Ocean and Gibraltar.
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